The Duchess surprised us last night by wearing a new designer, and an American one no less, when she arrived at the Plunket playdate wearing the Paulina open-knit dress from Tory Burch‘s 2014 Resort Collection.

Photo Copyright Woolf/Crown

While I was surprised to see that the Duchess chose this moment to wear a new American-based designer, I’m not at all surprised to see her wearing a piece by Tory Burch. The line has long carried many items that would be easy to see the Duchess wearing.

I watched as the event unfolded live last night and the dress was IDed by Elizabeth over at the What Kate Wore Facebook page. However, I was exhausted and instead of posting last night, I decided to go to bed. When I went to bed all sizes were still available for purchase on Net-A-Porter. When I woke up this morning, they were all sold out.

The Kate Effect is as strong as ever, apparently.

The dress is a bit stretchy, and a longer length than we are used to seeing the Duchess in.  Of course there was the rampant coverage a few months ago about how the Queen ordered Kate to lower her hemline – I’m not sure if I believe it or not but this definitely fits the bill.  Either way, it was a brilliant choice for an engagement where she would be playing on the floor with George, picking up toys, chasing after him, etc.

James Whatling/SplashNews.com

The Duchess of Cambridge paired the dress with the Jimmy Choo “Vikki” Platform Pump in black. And from what I can tell, the shoe is now officially sold out everywhere as well. I’ll continue to check back and will let you know if I find more in stock somewhere.

Kate also wore her Ballon Bleu watch by Cartier (drool) her Mapin & Webb Fortune necklace, and her Annoushka Pearl Earrings (though I believe the ones the Duchess is wearing are silver and not gold – I can’t find a photo of them in silver).

I think the look was lovely, though I did expect to see her dressed down a bit more for a “playdate”.  There were reports that before she left, Kate picked up a few pairs of trousers at Gap and Zara, so I thought perhaps this would be one of the moments that we saw them.

I had to include a full length photo so that you can see the full ensemble.

Photo copyright Woolf/Crown

Photo copyright Woolf/Crown

Um, how ABSOLUTELY sweet is Prince George playing on the ground with the other Kiwi babies?! I think this may be one of my favorite engagements to date – it’s like the headline should read “Royals: They’re Just Like Us!”

Photo copyright Woolf/Crown

How gorgeous is this photo of the 3 of them? I think the way that Kate and William have chosen to live their lives continues to breathe new life into the monarchy.

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